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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28716054">Father of the Year</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupthatistoohot/pseuds/soupthatistoohot'>soupthatistoohot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Oneshot, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, it can be read as platonic too, whatever floats your boat, zukka - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:40:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,117</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28716054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupthatistoohot/pseuds/soupthatistoohot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko talks about his dad. Sokka listens.</p><p>Takes place after Boiling Rock</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ozai &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Sokka &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Father of the Year</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Zuko sat in the dirt by the fire, alone with his thoughts. He was thinking about his uncle. And God, he still felt weighed down by guilt. He betrayed his trust, betrayed everything he taught him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko physically jerked, snapping his head towards the voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You scared the crap out of me, Sokka!” He hissed. He didn’t want to wake everyone else up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, didn’t mean to,” Sokka said, taking a seat on the ground near Zuko. They stayed silent for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My uncle,” Zuko responded to the earlier question. When Sokka gave him a confused look, he elaborated, “I was thinking about my uncle.” Sokka nodded, slightly expecting Zuko to elaborate. When he didn’t, Sokka spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for helping me find my dad, by the way. Don’t think I ever thanked you properly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t mention it.” Then out of nowhere, “Uncle was sort of like a father to me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah? Alright,” Sokka said, settling in on the ground. He wasn’t expecting Zuko to be chatty but figured he’d indulge him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, he accompanied me when I was exiled to find the avatar. He talked me down from fits of rage, he mentored me in firebending, he tried his best with me, even when I was being hot-headed. He really shouldn’t have had so much patience. I was so ignorant and… angry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>seem pretty mad back then,” Sokka agreed, “now we know you’re just kind of a sourpuss.” Zuko rolled his eyes as Sokka chuckled at his own joke. When Zuko didn’t speak again, Sokka pushed more. “If you don’t mind me asking… why were you exiled? At first I kinda just thought the firelord sent you to search for the avatar just </span>
  <em>
    <span>because</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This sounds... a bit more deliberate. Like you weren’t supposed to find him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yikes. That hit Zuko like a ton of bricks. He never even considered that. After the avatar had been gone for 100 years, obviously his father thought they had just disappeared. He didn’t expect him to find the avatar. It was a quest set up for failure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to answer,” Sokka said suddenly, derailing Zuko’s train of thought. Zuko realized he had not only not responded, but was staring straight at the ground with rather forlorn expression. The revelation was written all over his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay. You’re right… my father was cruel like that.” He really didn’t want to talk about this, but, well, it was going to come up at some point. The scar on his face had a story and it would only be a matter of time before someone asked about that, too. “I didn’t see it at the time, but Father was really… bad.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s an understatement. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I… one time I sat in on a war meeting. It was my first time. I was fourteen, and much different than I am now. The plan was to sacrifice a whole army of fire nation soldiers. I objected to that. I argued that they shouldn’t die. That those were people who fought proudly for our nation.” His voice even raised a little in volume now, still just as outraged when he initially heard the plan. He took a moment to calm himself down. “My father didn’t take kindly to my outburst against the general. He said I would have to duel an Agni Kai for my disrespect,” he explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agni Kai?” Sokka questioned, unfamiliar with the fire nation tradition.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A firebender’s fight to the death,” Zuko elaborated grimly. Sokka’s eyes widened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He made you fight that general to the death as a fourteen year old?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Zuko said. He stared into the fire in front of him. He fidgeted uncomfortably, and closed his eyes, but that didn’t help. He only saw his father’s fire. He continued, regardless, eyes still squeezed shut, “I thought I would be dueling the general I spoke out against… but when I turned to face my opponent, it was my father.” Sokka audibly gasped, and not in a mocking way. He was genuinely shocked, yet unsurprised. Zuko continued, keeping his composure, but not without effort, “I… I couldn’t fight him. I didn’t. I begged for mercy, but the firelord being the </span>
  <em>
    <span>spectacular</span>
  </em>
  <span> parent he was decided to ‘teach me a lesson’ and left me a permanent reminder of my disgrace and failure.” Zuko’s eyes were still closed, his hand came up to touch his scar, the skin rough. He hardly felt his own fingertips against the skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s… that’s how you got it? I always just assumed it was a training accident or something,” Sokka said solemnly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was no accident,” Zuko said, bitter. “He pressed his hand right against my face, he burned this spot on purpose… so every time I saw myself, I would be forced to remember. It was cruel. I know that now... but I didn’t before. I thought I could regain my father’s respect by capturing Aang, but even when he thought I killed him, when I had everything I thought I wanted, it all felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said, his eyes now open again. “It was like my conscience during the war meeting. I knew what the fire nation was doing was terrible… so I spoke out against it. I followed my gut. This time Father tried to electrocute me for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father of the year,” Sokka muttered sarcastically. Zuko looked at him, “sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay, I agree. He’s the worst.” Sokka didn’t seem to know how to react to the whole thing. He could tell Zuko didn’t want any sympathy, he had struggled through telling the story as it is, which he gave him a lot of credit for doing in the first place. Zuko didn’t seem to like talking about himself much. He mostly spoke of Iroh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for telling me. You really didn’t have to,” Sokka said, finally. Maybe it wasn’t the perfect response, but it was the best he could think of at that moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay. It’s probably better I get used to talking about it. You’re really the first person I’ve directly told. Uncle and Azula were there when it happened, most of the fire nation knows about it, and everyone else just doesn’t ask,” Zuko said simply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew the firelord was a jerk… but that’s just straight-up evil,” Sokka remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… it is. Aang better teach him one hell of a lesson,” Zuko responded grimly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well if you ever feel like you need a dad, I’m sure mine would be up for it.” Zuko smiled a little at the sentiment, he knew he would do no such thing, but it was the thought that counts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Sokka.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading the 1000th “Zuko talks about how he got his scar” fic. Also please note I wrote this months ago with minimal editing.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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